Rashad Evans reveals what led to Rampage Jackson boxing match cancellation, if fight could get rebooked

Rashad Evans was very excited for his return to the ring for a boxing match against longtime rival Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, but in the days leading up to the fight, the UFC Hall of Famer realized that the promises made to the fighters weren’t being kept by the promoters.

That led to the eleventh hour decision for Evans and Jackson to drop off the card rather than face a potential fiasco by actually fighting and then watching contractual obligations not get fulfilled afterwards.

“Negotiations kind of just fell apart as far as things that me and Rampage were promised going into the fight. It didn’t get fulfilled,” Evans told MMA Fighting on Monday. “We tried to work around it so that it could happen but it just wasn’t enough time to make everybody happy. The [parties] just kind of decided that it would be better if we just didn’t do it. It was disappointing.

“For one, this is something that we built up for a while and it’s something that we really got in shape to do. We weren’t going to go in there and screw around. This is something we both got focused for and it was a good focusing thing for he and I both. He’s in great shape right now. I got in great shape as well. It’s something we were really looking forward to doing.”

While Evans didn’t discuss the exact details in the contract, he revealed that money absolutely played a part in the decision to pull the plug on the fight.

The former UFC light heavyweight champion acknowledged that hearing horror stories from across the industry where fighters were guaranteed certain payouts only to get stiffed after an event already happened lingered in his mind when it came time to pull out of the fight.

“It’s definitely a financial component,” Evans said. “That’s where things just kind of went off the rails a little bit. We weren’t able to be made whole and appeased before it was time to really to take the next step and really know that everything’s going to be taken care of when the fight is done. The last thing we wanted to do was put ourselves in a situation where we weren’t going to get the money that we were promised after the fight is done.

“There’s been some stories about other fighters that participated in boxing matches and not receiving anywhere close to the money they negotiated. So we put it in a few safety measures in order to make sure we’re hitting certain milestones, and we’re able to make that mark when it’s time. We just weren’t able to come to that agreement.”

One particular incident comes to mind involving fellow UFC veterans Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz after they faced off in a boxing match back in July 2024 with Diaz then filing a lawsuit against Fanmio — the company that promoted the bout on pay-per-view — for $9 million he claimed he was still owed from the event.

Masvidal later told MMA Fighting that he had to “plead the fifth” regarding his own issues regarding potential payment problems from that event, but he promised “everything will be known” eventually.

That situation caught Evans’ attention when he started to have doubts about whether or not he and Rampage were going to end up in a similar ordeal with their boxing match.

“It was something that we wanted to make sure that learning from that situation [with Diaz and Masvidal] and making sure that we were taken care and making sure that everything was all met and accounted for before we even stepped into the ring to fight,” Evans said. “It just wasn’t able to get done in time.

“They’re still putting this card together, things are still happening so I don’t know if there’s a solution to it and they come with something in the last minute ditch effort, we might be able to make something happen, but as of right now, it’s just not something that we can go through with.”

Despite their rivalry in the UFC with plans to reignite the feud for the boxing ring, Evans said he definitely consulted with Rampage before the fight was cancelled.

“We had dialogue and we talked about it,” Evans said. “We just made sure that we were both OK with stepping away from this promotion and potentially serving it up for another time. Like it or not, he is my adversary when it comes to fight night, but there’s also this symbiotic relationship that happens along the way when you have an opponent like Rampage. Him and I have a very special thing together being that we have really good chemistry together and really good fight chemistry together. That’s something that you really want to stick with because it makes fighting that much funner.”

It’s an understandably upsetting outcome for a pair of veteran fighters who haven’t competed recently but put other projects on hold to get ready for a boxing match.

While Evans still trains regularly, he’s not putting his body through the kind of workouts required for a training camp to get ready for a fight. So with the Rampage bout cancelled, Evans admits that he’s going to have to shift gears to return to his regularly scheduled activities, but he’s not totally giving up hope that the fight could be rescheduled.

In fact, Evans says he’s open to the idea of working with a different promoter who might even want to feature the fight on another marquee card like those held by Misfits Boxing or even a show headlined by a star such as Jake Paul.

“I’m going to regroup but I definitely do have a desire to do the boxing match with Rampage,” Evans said. “It was a lot of fun devoting myself and really just getting back into the fighting mindset. Since I stepped away from fighting, I’ve been busy doing other things, developing myself outside of the fight game, which is all very important. But at the same time, there’s a certain itch that still needs to be scratched, and I still got it. I still have that feeling inside of me. Before I totally relent to being an elder statesman, I at least want to feel it one more time or at least a couple times.”

“If the opportunity does present itself, and we do find ourselves another promotion that can make it happen, then I’m all for it. It’s just about making sure that both of us are taken care of and it’s something that makes sense to both of us as well … . We know that there’s a lot of promotions that really fit into this space and really fit into what we do. It’s really a good thing that influencer market has opened up the way that it has and it’s really received by the fans and it’s something that’s fun.”

Evans isn’t giving up hope on the boxing match against Rampage until all resources are exhausted, but he’s also not going to spend an exorbitant amount of time stressing about issues outside of his control.

He’s successfully transitioned to a life away from fighting, which includes businesses he’s opened as well as doing analyst work around combat sports, so Evans has plenty to keep him occupied even if he still really wants to punch Rampage one more time.

“Life goes on if this doesn’t happen for the short term,” Evans said. “I’ll put my training on the backburner as far as doing it two or three times a week and really start to put my focus on my other businesses and really start to do other things outside of the fight game.”